The Darkest Of Skyrim
by ihearthorses6000
Summary: Kyli Arida is three things; a mercenary, a warrior, and a coward. Then he meets Rune Deliek, who is almost his opposite, and the two are a dangerous mix that must take on an even more dangerous level of Skyrim as the two most wanted criminals.
1. Chapter 1: Captive to Follower

Kyli Adira watched, just watched, as they died, because he knew there was nothing he could do, considering he was bound and gagged. And even if he could have done anything, his first instinct would have been to run and find some kind of hiding place.

He knew most of them. Rolik Diner, one of the strongest men known to exist, no longer had his head attached to his shoulders, so painfully cut off by the hooded figure. Dagia Metri, the darkest mages of this world, was missing every spell she sent towards whoever was attacking, and when the jet-black blur got close enough, it surely didn't miss. Even Trunk Wavelight, the fastest elf you would ever see, was outrun.  
>All of Kyli's captors, the ones who had put in those horrid ropes in the first place, that armies couldn't destroy, was being taken down by one person.<p>

Kyli found his knees to be weak.

The figure stopped and just huffed out of breath, and Kyli was close enough to see that whoever it was still had a swing in its sword, a readied arm. This hooded blur was far from tired, and honestly looked like they were disappointed there weren't any more.  
>Their head turned in Kyli's direction, and then started towards him. The weapon they are holding, the small dagger that still had blood dripping from it, still wasn't sheathed.<p>

Kyli's heart sped up as it stopped, inches from him, and then slashed the dagger upward...and cut the gag off.

As Kyli felt the relief of being able to move his own mouth again, the figure used the gag to wipe off the ugly crimson, but still didn't sheathe the blade. "What's your name, friend?" The killer asked.

The accented, soft, and clear voice was foreign to him, which brought him some relief; almost everyone Kyli knew was his enemy.  
>For that reason, he decided that he can't risk the knowledge that this hooded person might know who he was. He lied. "Cartrek Bowler. You?"<p>

"Rune, Rune Deliek."

He froze. "Wait. Rune? As in...?"

Rune took the hood off, revealing the face of a strange mixture of a cat and a person.

Kyli shook his head, unbelieving. _A kjaiit. A cat just saved my life._

"As in the wanted bandit, yes, that would be me." Rune replied, watching Kyli with those bright green eyes, taking in every single thing he did.

"You're a khajiit? Why would a cat help me?"

Rune smiled, faintly amused, but a cold fire burned in his eyes. "Ah, so you judge against my kind, then, friend?"

_There's that 'friend' thing again._ Kyli thought. _I should have known he was a cat the moment he said it; only a cat could call a random stranger a friend, but I honestly doubt they ever mean it._

Kyli shook his head quickly, fearing the khajiit's glance. "No, no, I just...if your kind had to name on person who hates them, half of them would say mine. They despise me, and with good reason. Most would rather stab me than help me."  
>Kyle paused, feeling the cold pit of fear coming back in his stomach, still not so sure if Rune intended on helping him. Rune noticed. (<em>What doesn't he notice?<em>)

His smile widened. "Don't look so pale. If I had planned on killing you, you wouldn't have lived long enough to worry about it."  
>Kyle noted that at least that was true. "Then...why did you help me?"<br>"I didn't, not exactly. I would have been here anyways, even if you weren't. I hear that your, ah, friends over there," He gestured towards the pile of bleeding bodies, "had a good sum of gold, and I intend to make it mine. But on the way in here, I noticed you." He grinned. "And I couldn't very well leave you, now could I? But getting in without being noticed would be harder, with those bandits of them having a prisoner so close to their treasure. It's actually rather smart, because even if someone got past the bandits, they would have to go through you to get to their gold, and I'm rather sure that just about anyone who sees a black figure approaching them, while they're bound and gagged, would panic, and in attempts to get away, they would make too much noise, alerting the bandits. Of course, I would have silenced them, immediately, but still, noise can be a warning, but so can silence." Rune shrugged. "So, then I decided that I hadn't had very much fun in a while, anyway."

Kyli shook his head. _One decision, one person, was all it took for him to do...that._ He found himself unable to speak, mostly for fear he would say the wrong thing.

Then Kyli noticed a look of impassive decision in his eyes, and then, Rune said, quietly but coldly, "Tell me, are you foolish enough to go to the guards about me?"

Kyli froze, realizing what he meant. He knew where the bandit was. He knew what he really looked like. He knew what race he actually is. _What's to prevent me,_ Kyli thought, _from running off and telling the guards where he is, and collect a good-sized bounty? _

_The only thing that can stop me is him._

_So what's to stop him from killing me, right here and now?_

Nothing came to his mind. And Rune doesn't seem able to think of anything, either, because there wasn't a reason why he shouldn't.

Kyli rested his hand on the handle of a sheathed blade that had been in his captor's chest, but Kyli knew he couldn't best the thief and killer, and knew he couldn't let it get that far. "There's another way."

Rune raised a brow. "Yes, and that's to keep a close eye on you."

"So I'll come with you."

"I would think that you'd hate the idea of being a prisoner again." Rune chuckled.

"Not as a prisoner, a..." Kyli hesitated before saying, "follower." _I don't know how the cats say 'friend' so easily._

Rune paused. "If you know remotely anything about me, you know that won't be a safe trip, and that it will be more than a trip."

"Well...my life really isn't going uphill anytime soon. I don't care."

Rune shook his head. "Alright, fine, but first, what's your real name?"

"Uh, I already said, it's Cartrek."

"I know a lie when I see one. What's your name?"

He realized that he couldn't lie to this feline. He took a deep breath and said, "Kyli Ishor."

Rune's eyes widened, and then he nodded. "I should have known. You have many enemies, even if they only know you by name, not by by face." He glanced at Kyli for a second. "Do yourself a favor, though, and don't lie to me again."

Kyli swallowed. "Wasn't planning to."

"Alright, then. Come on, the sun only stays down for so long, and there's something about the dark I need to show you."


	2. Chapter 2: Follower to Learning to Drown

Kyli didn't know how Rune did it, wandering around in the dark like he knew what he was doing, like the stealthy cat knew when to duck, when to jump, and where every tree root was. Kyli had nearly forgotten that khajiits had enhanced night vision, and, as he got slapped for the third time by a tree branch, he thought it was really unfair.

Kyli tried to take his mind off the splinters he was sure was now in his face. "So...where are we going, exactly?"

Rune's voice reached him from ahead, quiet but clear and cutting through all other sounds, like a butter knife slicing through softened butter. "Figuratively six hundred seconds to the south."

Realizing that talking about where they were going was going to get him nowhere, Kyli changed the subject. "So...how'd you end up like this?"

Rune sounded annoyed. "Like what?"

"Like one of the most wanted criminals in all of Skyrim."

"Well, considering you're one of the most hated Nords in all of Skyrim, I could ask the same of you. And I'd have to say it started when I stole a totem from a guard's pocket. Totem for Stendarr, I believe. The guard had a personal grudge against me, but the totem itself must have been worth six thousand gold." Rune glanced backwards. "What about you, huh, Nord? How did you end up so hated?"

"Er...well, mostly, it was because I don't know when to shut up."

"I noticed." Rune laughed quietly.

"Shut up."

"Heh. So, that's all, though? You didn't know when to shut up? No, 'oh, I got drunk one time, and after that...' Not a mead-and-maiden kinda story? That's usually what I hear from Nords." Rune said.

Kyli rolled his eyes. "Mead is overrated."

"This coming from a thirty-one-year-old redhead Nord."

"Offensive. Besides, there's just-" Kyli stopped. "Wait, how did you know I was thirty one?"

Rune grinned, and Kyli could only tell by the moon's light reflecting off his teeth. "A wild guess."

Kyli frowned. How could he possibly know?

The khajiit's smile widened. "I do my research, Kyli. And you've annoyed quite a few of my kind, so one way or another, I hear things."

Rune nearly whispered, 'stalker,' but then Rune came to a stop, and the cat grinned. "We're here. Now, I recommend not doing something stupid, because it could probably get you killed." He turned a bit, and glanced back at Kyli. "And if you're going to say it, just say it."

"Stalker." Kyli replied, his voice rather quiet. It didn't seem to matter. Kyli changed the subject. "So, what're we-whoa!"

He stopped, almost losing his balance, jerking towards a huge pit below them, where a waterfall was roaring away, like laughing at him. Kyli closed his eyes as he started to fall, but then something quickly grabbed his arm, nearly pulling his shoulder out of his socket.

"Falling off the edge," Rune said, pulling him up, "counts as something stupid, stupid."

Wide-eyed, Kyli asked again, "What are we doing here?"

"Getting across. It's easy, and kind of thrilling, but I think you're not going to like it. If you have anything that you don't want to get wet...ha, too bad. If you want to live, follow my lead. When you hit the water, curl up into a ball. Keeps the damage to a minimum."

With that, Rune jumped towards the waterfall.

Shocked, Kyli yelled, "I thought you said that falling in counts as something stupid!"

Rune called back, just before he hit the water, "I did! Now jump!"

Groaning, and muttering about crazy cats, Kyli took a couple steps backwards, rushed forward, and felt him leave the ground. He closed his eyes, too afraid of what would happen next.

So he didn't see what happened next, but only felt it; something loosely grabbed his shirt before getting a better grip, and then yanked him down, lower, and lower...and then to the side, and he wasn't in the water anymore.

Kyli gasped for breath, devouring the stale, sickly salty water around him. He was in a water cave, and would only be a hazard zone around high tide. At the moment, the waves were low, and danced quietly by his feet.

Kyli stood up, and finally got a look around. While the water he had earlier been surrounded in was a murky darkness, the water cave reflected the light of a torch that hung at the ceiling, making the less than an inch deep of water at their feet look soft orange.

"What is this place?" Kyli glanced around, as Rune got up and waded towards the torch.

"No idea, honestly. Found it once, when this guy tried to drown me for stealing his money. I dragged him down with me. I found this cave, and he's one of the many skeletons at the bottom of the river."

Kyli shivered. "Yay for him."

Rune didn't reply, as he had gone to the corner, started picking at a moss-covered, soggy chest.

Kyli may not have been the smartest of people, but he knew a hard-to-pick lock when he saw one. "That yours?"

"No. Nothing I have was mine to begin with." Rune smiled.

"Except your attitude."

"Hmm, no, I inherited that, from my father. Then again, 'inheriting' is just another word for stealing, so."

"Okay, so, rephrase, is the stuff in that chest stuff you now own?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you have a key...?"

"I swallowed it." Rune shrugged. "If I hadn't, and someone killed me and took it, then they'd get my loot, too. But if you keep nothing on you but a dagger, and stash your stuff in chests with locks that are fairly difficult to pick, there's a higher chance that the only thing that'll be gettin' your treasure is the ocean."

Finally, he picked the lock. While the chest on the outside was wet and damaged beyond measure, everything inside seemed dry.

Rune moved through his things, and then grabbed a hunter's bow, and two hundred falmer arrows. "Here. You're going to need these, where we're going."

"And where are we going?"

"The end of everywhere and the middle of nowhere, as fast as we can, until time beats us." Rune grinned. "I hope you're not afraid of a hell of a story, because that's what we're gonna make."

Rune stared at Kyli for a moment, in such a way that only a khajiit could. "Just a warning, though. Don't try to run off with whatever we find when I'm not looking, because that wouldn't end pleasantly for you."

Kyli got the feeling this was a pretty damn permanent thing, which scared him the most. He nodded.

"Alright, sorry, I'm sure my petty threats must be getting annoying. I've got what we need, so we'd better go." Rune started to turn, and Kyli frowned at the thought of being back in the river, but then Rune stoped and turned around.

"One more thing. If I die, and you come to try to pick these locks, if you waste too many lockpicks, it has a setting to self destruct within five seconds."

Kyli shook his head. "Wow. Forgive me for saying, but you're crazy."

Rune's smile widened. "Now where did you get that idea?"


End file.
